good evening and welcome to "politicsnation." tonight's lead, broken record. like the roman emperor who watched his city burn while playing fiddle, president is whistling past the graveyard as it increasingly fills with americans dead from covid-19. we're past 3 million cases. a rising death toll is dampening whatever optimism the nation had only a few weeks ago. in the american south and south we felt, trump country usa is on fire with record-breaking numbers. florida shattered previous records for any state's biggest single day recording of new coronavirus cases today, announcing nearly 15,300 new

cases. only three other countries have reported more new cases in a day than the sunshine state. but as we head into what could be a devastating week for the nation, the president is at best distracted and at worst focused on any and everything other than coronavirus. he spent his morning tweeting about his three latest obsessions. the radical left, statues, and mond monumrnts, as he called them. of course much was made of president trump wearing ace mask publicly for the first time yesterday as he toured a military hospital because he had spent the last month undermining his pandemic task force,

ignoring local mandates on masks, and filling his campaign speeches, when they aren't canceled for lack of butts in the seat, with deflection, denial, and dismissal. at this point it's probably all he has. new polling from cbs adding to the dire reelection picture he's facing, with joe biden slightly ahead in florida, doing as well or dead even as trump in other crucial battleground states, red states that caved to the president's push to reopen now are taking that regret to the box office. joining me now, senator peters from michigan. senator, how are things going in michigan at this point? >> in terms of covid, we were a very early hotspot. our state was hit extremely

hard, particularly the city of detroit, the african-american community in our state showed record, really, pain in terms of the number of people impacted well above the population in our state. the governor did act very aggressively to shut down. we did bend the curve, and it has flattened. however, right now in the last few days we have seen an increase in those cases. you would expect some of that to occur, as you open up the economy, so we are keeping a very close eye on all of that, taking it day by day. the governor has also strengthened the mask order to make sure that folks are wearing masks when they go out into public. we know that really the very simple act of wearing a mask saves lives, and it's something we can all take individual responsibility to do. wear a mask, maintain social distancing. it's clear the virus is still out there. we have to do everything we can to slow the spread.

and that means being vigilant. that means being vigilant on a daily basis. >> and that vigilance paid off in michigan and though you have some slight increases now with monitoring. but earlier this week, you tweeted citing a "new york times" analysis that, quote, underserved communities in michigan and across the austin to disproportionately be impacted by covid-19. explain. >> it's clear that you look at underserved communities, particularly communities of color, they're the ones that get impacted the hardest. the numbers were clear in michigan, the african-american population, roughly 14% of the population here in the state, yet over 40% of the deaths. we have been pushing fema aggressively to have more data, exactly who is sick and who is not, and what are those communities that are hit the hardest. i'm the ranking member, the top democrat on senate homeland

security committee, we oversee fema. and it was shocking, it took so long, although they're starting to provide the numbers now, it's shocking they did not have those numbers to tell us exactly how underserved communities and communities of color are impacted. it's not the first time, we've seen that kind of really ignoring major communities that are hit in other disasters, whether it's a flood or a wildfire or hurricanes, which is why i've introduced legislation to create a unit within fema to deal with civil rights and underserved communities to understand that these communities regardless of the disaster tend to be hit the hardest and we need to make sure they have the resources to get through it, which means more resources than other communities for a variety of reasons. that hasn't happened in the past. it hasn't happened with this covid crisis. we've got to make sure we change that for the future. >> and it has to be intentional. talking about numbers, "the

times" detailed the threat facing american renters because of the epidemic, warning, quote, of the 110 million americans living in rental households, 20%, 20 percent, are at risk of eviction by september 30, according to an analysis by the covid-19 project. african-american and hispanic renters are expected to be the hardest hit. it also says, quote, in a response to a survey by the u.s. census bureau, about 44% and 41% of adult latino and black renters respectively said they had no or slight confidence that they could pay their rent next month or were likely to defer payment, according to an urban institute analysis of the data. and 21% of white renters felt

the same. is that the case in michigan, where we're seeing double the amount of blacks and latinos saying they don't think they will be able to pay their rent next month and they may face eviction by the end of the following month? i mean, this is extremely seriously and along racial lines, very telling. >> absolutely. there's no question that that's happening here in michigan as well as around the country. if you just look at the economic impact to the state broadly, we have roughly a little over 20% of our workforce is now on unemployment. that's a massive number. and as you know, reverend sharpton, the additional resources in unemployment, the additional $600 per week which was a lifeline to families, will come to an end at the end of july, that's july 25 here in michigan. and that's where things get very difficult for families who live literally paycheck to paycheck. how are they going to make their

rent payments? the figures that you quoted are scary. but it's also folks who are paying mortgages. this is why we've got to make sure people don't lose their houses after they've been paying a mortgage in a home in the city of detroit or other communities across our state and then find they lose that home and equity. it's unacceptable, which is why the house acted, did put resources in their covid package to deal with rent and mortgage relief. >> but now the senate has to act. i have to ask you about your proposal called the 1619 act. >> yes, the 1619 act is resources that will be provided to help with the education of the african-american history as well as experience. it's money provided to the african history museum which is part of the smithsonian

institution to expand their programs, their educational programs, provide curriculum for schools across the country so americans learn about african-american history and experience, particularly to provide curriculum in those school districts that currently do not have any education whatsoever in terms of african-american history. and how do we get that curriculum developed, how do we make it available to educators across the country and how do we provide grants to help those communities that wish to offer this education, we need additional assistance to do it. to me it's critical for us, particularly during this very difficult time we're in right now, that people understand the history and the experience of our african-american communities. >> thank you, senator gary peters. the more they know about the history, the more they would not have people that committed treason and were committed to

slavery. thank you for being with us. joining us is the mayor of jackson, mississippi, talking about statues, mr. mayor, there was the vote this week to remove the statue of jackson in your city. explain what happened and what does that mean. >> first and foremost, it's a pleasure to speak with you again, reverend sharpton. the vote that took place is one that is long overdue, something that i have desired to do from the moment that i took office. there was some question for some time as to who had ownership over the statue, because there was some question over who has actual ownership over city hall. we're proud to have taken this step. you know, some people have said we're trying to take away history or erase history. we're not trying to take away history nor can we. but we are trying to demonstrate who we deem honorable and deserving of immortalzation or

being immortalized with statues like this. andrew jackson was a brutal slave owners and was a perpetrator of one of the worst acts of genocide this nation has seen with the trail of tears. >> the statue sits in an area that appears like a small park, is that right? >> it's a small garden outside of city hall. >> now, who owns the garden? who take care of that garden? is private money securing that garden? is private money keeping that statue clean? or are taxpayers doing it? >> years ago taxpayers certainly paid for the upkeep of city hall. years ago the masons did a renovation of city hall, built a second floor, long, long ago, and there was some question about whether they actually had ownership and control over the grounds. we have since cleared that issue up, and we are happy to be

removing that statue and putting something in its place that is more representative of the direction that we see the city going in, that we would like to see the nation go. >> because the reason i raise it, because i keep saying to people that if taxpayers, including black taxpayers who are the ones who are the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, of people that were enslaved, are literally paying taxes to keep the upkeep of people that wanted to keep us in slavery and that committed treason, so this is not an objective view here, you are asking us to pay for the upkeep of somebody that wanted us in chains and to secure it. and i think that when you bring that into the argument, it's a different argument. if somebody wants a statue at their house, they take care of it, that's one issue. but if it's on public fundgroun

and protected by public funds that taxpayers pay for, for people that wanted us to be three fifths of a man, that is insulting. >> absolutely. if you look at the history of monuments placed throughout the south, they were placed there in replacement of monuments to reconstruction. there is a long legacy and history of people who rose out of oppressive conditions, built communities and saw progress for themselves, people like john r. lynch in the state of mississippi, people that those legacies and monuments to their great work have been destroyed and replaced by symbols of hate, symbols of oppression. so we're happy to take this down and turn to a new chapter in our history as a city and as a community at large. >> now, a lot of time, but you

have to bring this to your state, this week set a record in hospitalizations, "the jackson clarion-ledger" reported that total confirmed hospitalizations from covid-19 in mississippi rose to 981 from 662 on june 20, a 48% increase. we knew this pandemic would be bad once it hit the south. why do you as a southern man think we're seeing the region hit particularly hard, mr. mayor? >> i think that unfortunately we have seen partisan politics play too significant of a role. the response has been woefully inadequate on a state and national level. i warned at the time that we started rolling back regulations on the state level, opening up businesses again, that we will

see this and that the decision wasn't being made from a scientific basis but based on political pressure. i felt that our hand was forced. seeing communities open to the north, south, east, and west of us. i stand not only in concern for my residents and my community, we are not only the largest city by a factor of three, the capital of the state, but we are the capital of health care. when we see communities around us with increasing numbers, then it will be a disastrous and detrimental effect on our hospitals, hospitalization rate and ventilator usage in our city. >> we'll have to leave it there. thank you for being with us this evening, mayor. let's bring in former rnc chair michael steele, also the former lieutenant governor of maryland, and podcast host danielle moody, an adviser at the center for american progress. michael steele, you were lieutenant governor, you headed

the republican national committee. can you explain to me why we are acting like we ought to applaud the president after all of these months finally putting on a face mask when clearly this is something that is outrageous. it took all of this, and to seat spiking up in now the south and the southwest, his stronghold, after we saw unbelievable spikes around the northeast and other parts of the country, state of washington, you name it, and he finally puts on a mask and we act like that's something to applaud? >> i know, it's actually rather pitiful, the way people are sort of guffawing and fawning over this image of the president walking down the hall with now everyone around him in masks, after damn near five months of the country saying to him, particularly the medical

professionals, put the mask on. why we're seeing what we're seeing now happened in places like florida, mississippi, and elsewhere throughout the south and southwest is because he didn't. he did not set the example at the beginning of this virus. in fact he castigated the governor of washington and the leaders in california and new york with those, quote, blue states being under siege by covid-19 and now we're supposed to sit back and applaud the behavior of a president that quite frankly endangered the country all these months ago. so no, there's no applause here. there is, what took you so long, and what part of responsibility are you willing to take for what has happened by the example that you set up to this point. >> now, danielle, the other part of this that is unexplainable

for many of the trump supporters and the republicans that have had a case of political laryngitis about some of what this president has done, is his continued defense of statues saying they're trying to remove our history like there's something proud about people that tried to overthrow the government, they were influential in a man that killed a president, abe lincoln, john wilkes booth was a confederate sympathizer, he killed the president, and the supporters of slave trade, slave ownership and slavery, and he acts like this is something that we should are protecting? >> i mean, but reverend al, you said all of the right things, absolutely he thinks that this is something that should be protected. he is a white supremacist. so protecting the legacy of other white supremacists who wanted to uphold slavery, who

wanted to destroy the country in order to do that, that's exactly the history that he is interested in upholding. that is what his bullhorn messages are to his supporters, that we will do everything that we can for white people not to be erased from american history. and that is his feeling. that is what his base wants. and what's so upsetting about all of it is that, i don't know, there are 137,000 americans that are dead. and this is what the president is doing. this is what the president wants to put his time and energy into, are monuments and statues instead of figuring out how more americans won't die because of his ineptitude. >> michael, you and i have known each other for a long time, you've known what i stood for, i've known what you stood for. when you look at this president, as a former chair of the republican national committee, that will advocate for justice for flynn and roger stone, never

one time bringing up justice for others like george floyd or breonna taylor, anyone like that, how does this president explain what he's running for in terms of reelection? you can't r he can't run on the economy, that's gone because of the pandemic and it will not come back for the third quarter. what will he say to the american people? "sleepy joe" is not sticking, that's not going to work. he can't be on the outside, shooting at the establishment. he is the establishment. what does he run on, michael? >> i think he runs on what you've seen him at least express publicly at the rallies that he's had so far, and that is, you know, blaming others for the condition and the situation the country finds itself in right now, and looking more closely at

how he goes about explaining to folks, well, you know, the black lives matter movement that's sort of grown up around the death of george floyd is somehow less significant and important than the, you know, commuting a sentence of a close buddy or having the justice department step in and say, yeah, flynn committed to these crimes but we're just going to look past that. you can't. you can't reconcile that. so what you do is you play to that base fear, you get that base fired up again around these old narratives that we saw coming out of 2016, because the landscape has changed. and what we're seeing and realizing, and this is true for mr. parscale who is running the campaign, even among his base, he's losing support because of the impact of covid-19, because of the impact of the economy,

and because a lot of those same white folks are reconciling themselves to a new truth that they saw for eight minutes and 46 seconds in the murder of george floyd and that's going to be hard for this president to overcome at the ballot box. >> danielle, when you look at those facts, the fear that many of us have, particularly in the civil rights community is that the only strategy that some could have on the trump side is voter suppression, purging voters, changing voting sites, all kind of mechanisms, one of the things we want to highlight in this big march in august, because we've got to assign people to protect the polls, protect voting, and mail-in voting, to educate the public, because i don't think they have anything to sell. even in red states where he's polling low, they could very easily lose the senate unless the votes are not fairly and

adequately protected. >> i think what we have to look at, rev, is to make sure we don't pay attention to the polls the way we did in 2016, having us believe that hillary clinton is charging ahead. we have to understand that with the dismissal of roger stone, everything we've seen over the last three years, this president is a criminal. everyone around him is a criminal. they will do everything they can to steal this election, if that is voter suppression, polling stations, malfunctioning machines, they will do everything they can to steal this election. the only thing we can do is show up en masse and make sure that we are stamina, that we are at ready for what we're going to face against november 3 because we're going up a man, the only thing separating him from an

orange jumpsuit is the presidency and he will do anything in his power and outside his power to protect it. >> i'll have to leave it there, thank you, michael steele and danielle moody. coming up, can we keep politics out of sports? i don't think we should, next. but first, my colleague lindsey riser with today's top new stories. >> thanks, rev. at this hour there are more than 3,260,000 cases of coronavirus nationwide. the death toll is more than 135,000. despite that, disney has reopened its orlando theme park, magic kingdom and animal kingdom opened yesterday with changes. reservations are required. crew members conduct daily cleanings and temperature checks and face masks are required. education secretary betsy devos is echoing the president's call to send children back to school. devos took to the sunday shows this morning but offered no plan

to keep kids safe. president trump has been threatening to cut federal funding if classes don't resume this fall. 18 sailors have suffered non-life-threatening injuries during a fire on a naval ship in san diego. the "uss bonhomme richard" caught fire after an explosion this afternoon. the cause has not been determined but we do know the ship had recently gone through maintenance. i'm lindsey reiser. "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton continues after the break. nd al sharpton continues after the break. yes! until i realized something was missing... ...me. you ok, sis? my symptoms kept me- -from being there for my sisters. "...flight boarding for flight 2007 to chicago..." so i talked to my doctor and learned- ...humira is for people who still have symptoms of crohn's disease after trying other medications. and the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief... -and many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened,-

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for this week's "gotcha," i want to address georgia republican senator kelly loveler and for that matter anyone else who has ever pleaded to keep politics out of sports. but for senator loeffler in particular, you were a part owner of the women's basketball team atlanta dream when you got into politics. so it seems like you are the political influence you're so invested in railing against. the wnba recently announced its dedication of the 2020 season to social justice, with player attire reading "black lives matter" and "say her name," and "black lives matter" painted on playing surfaces. senator loeffler wrote a letter to the commissioner balking at

these simple gestures, claiming they were too political and would send, quote, a message of exclusion. but how can it be out of line to acknowledge that black lives matter when the wnba is two-thirds black? in all of american sports, only the men's league has more black players. senator loeffler, your investment in atlanta dream is based off the blood, sweat, and tears of black women. how dare you suggest their lives don't matter? the women of the atlanta dream don't need me to stand up for them. they have their own voices and they know how to use them. the dream released their response as a team. affirming in part that black lives matter is, quote, not a political statement. this is a statement of humanity. and it's not just your own team that wants you gone, senator. league superstars like candace

parker and brianna stewart have called for your ouster. both, i might add, olympic gold medallists whose time serving on team usa eclipses your own short stint in the senate, in a seat you were appointed to, not elected by voters, by the way. but i want to get back to the egregious claim that there should be no politics in sports. it's a common refrain from the comfortable, a rallying cry for the status quo, because thereof always been politics in sports. what else do you call flyovers with weapons of war? politicians throwing out the first pitch? taxpayer dollars being used to bring the president onto the field for an ego boost or photo open? what's more political than the nfl accepting money from the department of defense in exchange for pro military displays? what you're really asking for,

senator, is for your politics to be represented on the court and for the women who play for you, to borrow a phrase, to just shut up and dribble. but i'm calling a personal foul. the shot clock is running out on your world view and i for one expect the wnba to permanently sideline you sooner rather than later. and don't forget, the voters of georgia had the opportunity to ballot box you out for good politically this november. by the way, i got you.

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welcome back. we talk a lot about presidential elections on this network. and rightfully so. but the power of the president is impacted greatly by which

party controls the senate. and in such a wild election year, previously safe republican seats might be up for grabs. like in south carolina, where a democrat hasn't served in the senate in over 30 years. lindsey graham was reelected to his senate seat in 2014 by 15 percentage points. but the last poll conducted in the palmetto state over a month ago showed a dead heat between graham and his challenger jamie harrison. joining me now is jaime harrison, democratic nominee for south carolina senator and former south carolina democratic party chair. mr. harrison, in a dead heat race, in a state that has been red for 30 years against an opponent that won double digits last time around, not doing that well. you're raising a lot of money. how do you explain this and how do you take it across the finish

line for the democrats? >> it's good seeing you, rev. listen, we are building a grassroots movement like we have never seen here in south carolina. when i first told people over a year and a half ago that i was going to get in this race, they patted me on the shoulders and said, oh, that's nice. i knew they didn't believe that we could do it. but we have demonstrated in this race, because of the energy on the ground, because democrats, republicans, and independents are tired of the rubber stamp actions of lindsey graham that we are building a movement, what i call a new south, that is bold, inclusive, and diverse. in that movement, last quarter, i outraised lindsey graham. he raised 5.6 million, i raised 7.4. we just announced we raised almost $14 million this quarter, more than any candidate has ever raised in the history of south carolina, democrat or republican. and so, rev, i know we are building an engine, we're making

our own history. and we are going to take it to lindsey graham. this is the greatest challenge he's ever had in his life. and at the end of the day, the seat that was occupied by strom thurmond, by ben tillman, by john c. calhoun, we're going to take this seat back for the people of south carolina because lindsey doesn't deserve to sit in it. >> you mentioned strom thurmond. before lindsey graham held this senate seat, it was occupied by strom thurmond who was a noted segregationist. in graham's statement on thurmond's passing in 2003, this is 2003, this is not the '60s, he called him, quote, south carolina's favorite son and claimed that south carolinians of all backgrounds new thurmond was on their side. what would it mean for you to win this seat in particular against someone that praised a known and avid segregationist

who split with the party because of the question of race? he's praising him, saying all south carolinians felt this way. and he's running at this time when there seems to be more acknowledgement of the need for races to deal with a new level of justice and diversity than we've seen whites and blacks in south carolina and around the country. >> rev, we know here in south carolina justice has not always been just. that's something that we have to change. lindsey graham as a senator who went and campaigned with a woman who ran the u.s. senate in mississippi who wanted to be at the front row of a lynching. this guy has not been representing south carolina and south carolina's best interests for a very, very long time. and what we need as a state is somebody who is going to bring hope back to our state, and not

just hope to a select group, but hope to everybody. i've been very blessed, i've been very fortunate. i grew up poor, low income community in orangeburg, south carolina. there were so many barriers in front of me. but my life has epitomized why the american dream is so special and why it's so strong. i want to make sure that that dream is available for all our young kids, for all the little boys and little girls growing up just like i did, to make sure they can live their dreams. right now in order for that to happen they need to have a senator up in washington, d.c. that's fighting for them and not fighting against them. lindsey graham epitomizes why people hate politics. and that's why i'm telling people, come and join our effort, if you're a democratic, if you're a republican, if you're an independent, go to jaimeharrison.com. let's start a new chapter in the

south. lindsey graham is a relic of the old past. we need a new bridge to the future. >> i'm going to raise this because it was very interesting to me, because lindsey graham has finally agreed to bring robert mueller before the senate. is he trying to break with the president and if so, is it too late and too little, too late, at that? >> rev, you know, lindsey is just seeking attention. in one of his interviews he said that for him, the most important thing is to be relevant. and so what that means is, it will be a dog and pony show so that all the cameras will be on him, people can see, he can tell a joke and try to be witty, but at the end of the day, how is that helping the people of south carolina? we are in a state, rev, where we just announced two record breaking days of covid cases. we are now over 56,000 cases. we had our first child that died of covid. a few more kids have now been

diagnosed with mis-c, which is something that comes from the covid virus. and so instead of this guy focusing on how he can help south carolina deal with the pandemic we're in, he wants to be in the limelight. he wants to be on tv every day talking about all of these other things. we need a senator who is going to work for us. lindsey graham hasn't worked for us in a long time. he hasn't done a town hall in-person in this state in over three years. >> wow. >> he's missed 38 hearings because he's had to go on television. i mean, this guy, he wants to be famous. he wants to golf with the president. he wants to fly around on air force one. i'm going to give him that opportunity, rev, in november i'm going to give him the opportunity. he just turned 65, he can go get his benefits and golf every day that he wants because it's time for south carolina to have somebody who will fight for her.

>> jaime harrison, thank you for being with us tonight. now to texas where a 12-person democratic primary is down to two. democrats on tuesday will be voting in texas. they're going to the polls to cast a ballot for either m.j. hegar or roy west to see who will square off against senator john cornyn in the general election. joining me now is roy west. we extended an invitation to your challenger, ms. hager, as well but there was a scheduling conflict. >> okay. >> mr. west, you've been on the state legislature a long time, i've seen you through the years as i've done networking work and

preaching work in texas. how are you running and how do you explain out of 12 candidates you showed strong enough to make the runoff and move into where, on tuesday, it's you or your opponent, ms. hager? >> rev, thank you for having me today. the reason i'm running is because the country and texas needs a change in direction. the fact is, when you begin to look at john cornyn, he has followed president trump on 99% of everything that he wanted to do. and this president has divided the country, and john cornyn has done nothing in order to make certain that texas values, in fact all of texas values, are in fact represented in the u.s. senate. it's time for him to go. we'll make certain we give him an opportunity to leave in november. >> tell me, roy west, why you as opposed to your opponent in tuesday's primary, why you would be in your opinion a better person that could defeat john cornyn for those democrats that

want to see him defeated for the reasons you stated. >> number one, i'm a true democrat. and most importantly, though, i have experience. i have demonstrated results in terms of issues concerning police reform. i passed the first body camera bill, one of the first in the entire country. i've worked on issues of education, creating three public universities and a law school. i've looked out for hbcus in this state and will continue to do that in the united states senate. when you look at issues concerning health care, i've dealt with issues concerning health care in this state. i will do the same thing for the country. >> now, your challenger has pointed out she should be trusted to beat senator cornyn and pointed to her treasure chest as the reason. she's raised a substantial amount of money, much more than you. do you have what it takes to win without having the financial advantage on tuesday and in november? >> yes, i do. the fact is, is that during the

primary, when we have 12 candidates, i was very efficient in terms of raising money, it cost me $3 a vote, it cost her probably $8 a vote in order to get to the runoff election. i will do the same thing as it relates to the general election. we have the funds to win a runoff election. >> is there a concern with the rising covid-19 numbers in texas about turnout to tuesday's election? >> yes, there is. the fact is we've already had record turnout. we've had probably about 653,000 people already turn out to vote. we expect that we'll probably get another couple of hundred thousand to turn out. the reason that is is because we end up having covid and covid has definitely impacted the ability of persons able to get to the polls. but we're hopeful and we're prayerful that we'll get our people to the polls. we need to look at the issues concerning african-americans in the state. we're turning out record

numbers. texas has more african-americans than any state in the country right now. >> wow. >> we have 1.2 million that are registered to vote. not enough. we're going to do a better job at registering in the fall. if we get 45 to 50% of them to turn out, we'll be in great shape. right now we're at 30%. >> all right, thank you for being with us tonight, royce west. up next, my colleague lindsey reiser with a brief news update. an update on a story we've been reporting on this afternoon. fire crews in san diego continue to battle a fire aboard a u.s. military ship. the fire was followed by a loud explosion on the "uss bonhomme richard." it happened south of the downtown area. the navy confirming there were 160 sailors on board at the time. 18 were transported to the hospital for minor injuries. more on this situation as it develops. i'm lindsey reiser. "politicsnation" continues after the break. the break. ets and i don't add up the years, but what i do count on... is boost high protein...

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>> the last question is do you remember the last thing you and erik said to each other when you last saw him on the late morning of july 17th? >> he said to me, i love you. i said i love you. he said i love you back. and he asked me what i was cooking that evening. and i said i was going to cook pork chops and rice and beans. he says that sounds good. and i said anything sound good to you fat boy? because that's what i used to call him. that was it. he drove off. >> that was erik garner's widow in a documentary called "american trial", the erik garner story. it's an imaginary story of the trial that was never held after the staten island grand jury refused to indict the officer in

the killing of unarmed erik garner. as we're now dealing with the movement that was sparked by the choking death with the knee on the deck of george floyd, i'm reminded of the same words when i was called about george floyd, i can't breathe that we now found he said some 20 times. it was also said by erik garner, another family i stood with back in 2014. i can't breathe, as erik garner was choked to death, screaming 11 times i can't breathe. they never brought it to court. so these directors and the family brought this to the screen so you could see the trial that never was and that many of us felt should have at least been a trial. you can determine when you see

the evidence what could have happened and maybe if things had moved a certain way, george floyd would not have faced the same kind of police that didn't think they would at least be held accountable and at least go to trial. a new documentary is now available to stream. at altavad.com. go and see for yourself. that does it for me. thanks for watching. i'll see you here next saturday at 5:00 p.m. eastern. up next, chris jansing picks up our news coverage.

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good evening, i'm chris jansing. thank you for joining us. political professionals usually use opposition research against their opponents. i mean, it's right there in the name. but tonight, in an extraordinary move, the white house is using it against one of its most visible team members. nbc news confirming the white house has gone beyond sidelining the nation's top infectious disease expert. now moving onto attempts to undermine his credibility. dr. anthony fauci you might have noticed was not on the sunday morning shows today. benched again. in favor of administration officials with a rosier view of how the u.s. fight against the